1. Field of the Invention
Since the memory of man runneth not to the contrary, the violin has been played by placing the forward edge of the soundbox of the instrument under the musician's chin, and drawing a bow of 29 inches or so in length, or more, across the violin strings.
Until recently, the music with which the violin is typically associated has remained relatively constant. Currently, there are several performers that wish to sing and play simultaneously. Others fight fatigue as they play the violin in an unnatural position, and still others want to play some of the faster renditions of county/western tunes, but find it exhausting and very difficult with the violin under his or her chin.
The present invention intends to address these concerns.
2. Overview of the Prior Art
There are several prior art patents which address the violin bow in one way or another. As the following demonstrates, none of these patents touch upon, or allude to, the features of the present invention, or the purposes for which it has been created.
Bartholomew patent U.S. Pat. No. 7,795,515, describes what appears to be a rather conventional bow construction with the added feature of the use of laminate, or composite, materials to build the shaft 5. It is noted in column 1 that the inventor describes a rather lengthy history of the bow and its evolution, for whatever benefit that might be.
Cipher, U.S. Pat. No. 2,552,408, patented his violin bow in 1951, and its essence is found in the clamping bracket 26. The size of the bow, however, appears to be conventional in every respect.
Now, things get interesting. In 1922, Mr. Loth patented his tensioning device [U.S. Pat. No. 1,421,510], which permitted him to grip the bow in his teeth, for whatever value that might have. Again, however, the bow appears to be of conventional length.
Archer patent, U.S. Pat. No. 1,897,225, relates to a gripping attachment, which is supported at the frog of the bow and has indentations for the placement of one's hand in gripping the bow which, again, appears to be of conventional length. Berkowski patent, U.S. Pat. No. 1,715,490, is a tensioning device for the bow strings which, it is said, permits the user to increase or decrease tension during playing of the instrument.
Krause patent, U.S. Pat. No. 2,421,567, is yet another device for varying the tensioning of the horse hair, and Pliassov, U.S. Pat. No. 5,918,297, is similar in purpose, namely tensioning of the string, but, as those that have gone before it, the bow appears to be conventional.
Finally, Shinneman patented a bow [U.S. Pat. No. 4,453,447] in 1984, which is to be used on percussion instruments.
It is evident from this analysis that neither the purpose nor the structure of the present invention has been recognized by the prior art.